Managed Chaos Decorating

I believe that good design must start with a concept in order to be purposeful and relevant. Sometimes a decorating plan stems from an object which becomes what we call an “inspiration piece”. This is a valid approach especially if the inspirational object has an emotional connection to an event or place in the client’s life. But what if there are no such pieces? What can we use as our basis?

One of the biggest questions I ask of my clients is “what are your desired results?”, “how do you want the room to feel?” More often than not the answer is “I don’t know!”. Well then, that puts me back at square one doesn’t it? After hearing many responses like those, I then began to look carefully and think deeply about current trends, trying to understand what it is that people wanted. The biggest one to arise in recent years and the one with the longest legs is the Pottery Barn look and the subsequent popularity for simple yet solid design with subdued color.

Why has this style of decorating become so widely accepted and embraced?

I believe that the promise of our lives becoming simplified by technology has fallen flat. Many of us now work from home so the line between work and domicile has become blurred if not erased. We run 24/7 and the onslaught of information has reached capacity. All of us are bombarded with information and graphic stimulation so that we simply want and need to shut down. The quiet colors and spare character of decorating today reflects our knee-jerk reaction to a world of "too much".

The quiet colors and spare character of decorating today reflects our knee-jerk reaction to a world of “too much”.

All is good you might think as this reaction is stemming from our need to protect ourselves…except for one thing, we have thrown the baby out with the bath water. This desire for simplicity at the hands of a generic approach still does not satisfy the needs of the individual. Many of my clients have followed the recipe to a “T” but still feel that “something is missing”, or that it’s “just not quite right”.

The simpler the design and the fewer decorative elements you have to work with, the harder it is to develop a connection between place and self. After all, you have fewer tools (decorative elements) so the opportunities become less. The balance between objects becomes more critical.

Simple design means a reliance on basics.

Simple and spare design has the capacity to be a bit sterile if you are not careful to interject areas of interest. Here’s where the managed chaos bit comes in...
We as humans have an extraordinary need for textural delight; we are tactile beings. Our tactile sense operates on an elemental level in our psyches. Simple design means a reliance on basics and therefore great attention must be paid to creating a plan which operates on an elemental basis. We relish ornamentation also but must temper it in our desire for a sane environment.

To attain this quiet equilibrium, I first develop a personal palette based on neutrals which reflects your comfort zones. This foundation is essential for building a rich but controlled decorating scheme. Only then am I able to interject areas of interest which are intense but small and contained. These managed areas of interest satisfy your need for ornamental “eye candy” yet do not and cannot overwhelm. These areas of interest are placed carefully in a room to direct your eye in a way which is smooth and transitional. My background as a fine arts painter has taught me how to direct the viewer’s eye in a picture plane…I apply the same principles when creating an interior. A good artist also knows that you do not tell everything you know in a painting, you always leave a bit unstated so that the viewer can create a connection with the piece.  I call this comprehensive approach "managed chaos" and it works as well in a painting as it does in an interior space. Decorating is theater and your room is an artistic creation therein.

Design work is challenging, each project presents its own parameters, and it’s intellectually stimulating. Who knew that decorating and design was more than matching fabric and color to your sofa? :-)